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sarangkstars · 2 years

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Short Kdramas/Drama Special/Web Drama

Part 2

These short kdramas fit in nicely when my drama capacity is challenging. Since some of you may experience a similar drama challenge, I thought I'd share these kdramas with you.

Part 1 here

Check Out The Event

Ha Song Yi (Bang Min Ah) and Park Do Kyum (Kwon Hwa Woon) broke up after five years of dating. It wasn't what she wanted, but he is determined and doesn't intend to explain his reasons very well. Meanwhile, Song Yi ends up winning a promotion that the two signed up for together while they were dating, worth an all-expenses-paid trip to Jeju Island. Not to miss the opportunity, she asks Do Kyum to accompany her, and, surprisingly, he accepts.

This is a short drama, with only four episodes and wonderful cinematography. A melodrama with a touch of comedy. All this with the beautiful landscapes of Jeju in the background.

It tries to pass on an interesting message, especially with regard to communication in relationships.

You Drive me Crazy

Eun-Sung (Lee Yoo-Young) works as a French interpreter. She is friends with Rae-Wan (Kim Sun-Ho). They have been friends for 8 years, since they were both college students. One night they sleep together and their relationship is never the same again.

It is a short and amazing drama. In my opinion, what made this simple story so beautiful is the impeccable chemistry between the protagonists. I know it's a pretty beaten plot, friends/lovers, but what's different about this one is that the protagonist is very unpredictable and conquers in a unique way. It's really funny to watch their relationship develop. She really drives him crazy.

One of my favourite short stories.

Page Turner

It is a three-part KBS Drama Special starring Kim So-hyun, Ji Soo and Shin Jae-ha. It tells the story of a piano prodigy Yoon Yoo-seul who goes blind after a car accident, and struggles to get her life back together with the help of Jung Cha-sik, an aspiring pianist and Seo Jin-mok, her former rival who later becomes a supporter.

This one is so good too. Again, I feel like watching more episodes because we need more time with them. I wanted to know more about their dreams and their achievements. And that's the only cons of this drama.

Quick shout out for the mums. Yoo Seul’s mom (Ye Ji Won) and Cha Sik’s mom (Hwang Young Hee). I loved them.

The Taste of Curry

Another KBS Drama Special. The curry restaurant "Cat's Restaurant" is run by Yu-Mi (Jeon Hye-Bin). She doesn't have many customers and one day, the restaurant is vandalized. Yu-Mi knocks down a suspect with her groceries and he passes out. When he wakes up, the guy (Hyun Woo) is unable to remember his own name. Until he regains his memory, the man helps out at Yu-Mi's restaurant.

This drama is about finding mutual healing and is quite sweet and emotional. Hyun Woo is a very charming and talented actor who proves here that he definitely deserves a leading role of his own.

If We Were a Season

It tells the story of Hye Rim (Chae Soo Bin) and Gi Seok (Jang Dong Yoon) who was born on the same day and grew up together being close friends. Their friendship is genuine and it looks like it will lead into a deeper relationship but then, one day Dong Kyeong (Jung Jin Young) came to their school and shake Hye Rim's world.

At only an hour long, I think this show did a solid job of telling its story. A quick highlight for the positives: Hye Rim and Gi Seok are adorable together. The way they bicker and tease each other and how they care about each other. Jung Jin Young, as the destabilizer of this relationship looks great, with those perfect features and charming smile.

The ending is open-ended and bittersweet but leaves with the hope that there is more to come, that there will be a new beginning.

Individualist Ms. Ji Young

Yeong has lived her whole life as an individualist. One day, she meets a man who is a totally opposite version of her. He lives for other people. Then these two very different people fall in love.

This is a cute romance between two people of polar opposites who change for the better after they meet. Even though it's only a two hour Show, the development of the story is well accomplished and the characters are very well constructed.

Min Hyo Rin is talented and the role is perfect for her, while Gong Myung...is such a sweet puppy and I can't imagine another actor in the role.

The Hymn of Death

The Hymn of Death tells the true story of Yun Sim-deok (Shin Hye-sun), Korea's first professional soprano singer, and her romance with playwright Kim U-jin (Lee Jong-suk). There are six half-hour episodes.

I don't really like dramas with unhappy endings but knowing it was a true story and knowing I would get to see two actors I love, I thoroughly enjoyed this drama. And of course Shin Hye-sun and Lee Jong-suk were perfect.

Kiss Goblin

12 episodes of 15 min. Ban Sook (Bae In Hyuk) is a 160-year-old goblin who wants to become human above all else. But to do so he must assume human form and kiss 10 different women to acquire different emotions.

I mainly got into this show because I liked some gifs I saw and found Bae In Hyuk quite attractive as a goblin. Bansuk is unnatural at first but becomes warmer, sweeter and more dreamy from the sixth episode onwards and I really loved it.

One of my favourite tropes is the forced closeness by living under the same roof, so I was quite pleased when Bansuk started living in Yeon Ah's flat and found the hyper-awareness parts quite delicious.

One Sunny Day

This drama is 2 hours long and is about Kim Ji-ho (So Ji-sub), a heartbroken man who goes to Jeju Island for work and meets this girl (Kim Ji-won) several times. They both get robbed and have to sleep in the same guest house. While staying on Jeju Island, she heals his broken heart and they fall in love.

It's a very sweet story although simple and restrained but I loved this little drama mainly because it had my beloved So Ji Sub as the lead actor.

Plus it's a drama that shows the wonderful island of Jeju in a way I've never seen it before in any show.

You Are Closer Than I Think

On their wedding day, a bride leaves a text message to the groom and she goes on their honeymoon alone. The groom tries to find his bride and learns something about her that he never expected. My review here.

#check out the event #you drive me crazy #page turner #the taste of curry #if we were a season #individualist ms ji young #the hymn of death #kiss goblin #one sunny day #you are closer than i think #short kdramas #kbs drama special #web drama

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heyampiita · 3 years

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Hometown Cha Cha Cha: My Two Most Favorite Topics

A romantic-comedy drama series about a dentist who decided to put up her clinic in the countryside and a jack of all trades guy who uses his abilities to help the people of his town. It’s a feel-good series. It simply shows how good the world we live in and that we should not be afraid to be generous to it.

Collectivism vs. Indvidualism

For the first five episodes, I realized that the main protagonists represent the kind of societies they come from. The book of Soo Hyun Kim, I Decided to Live as Me, has been helpful to this realization because it gives a glimpse of how Korean society works in general.

Hye-jin represents the present society in Korea— they work in numbers. Everything she does is calculated — the distance she put between herself and other people and the amount of money she pays to buy happiness or to void frustration. Also, she cares about social ranking, educational and family background, status before she accepts a person in her circle. Though Korea follows collectivist society like Japan, meaning, they prioritize the needs, wants and goals of a group over onself; Hye-jin follows individualism which views individuals as independent and able to succeed by themselves. On the first few episodes, it’s evident how she refuses to get herself involve with her neighbors and would like to keep things professional.

On the other hand, we have Chief Hong, the total opposite of Hye-jin. I think what appeals to the viewers is how Chief Hong lives. It is bold of him to live carefree in a growing competitive world, yet ideal. Who does not want to feel content with the minimum? Who does not want to live by the beach and be satisfied living a simple life? But then, even though we admire the kind of life he has, realistically speaking, we are in a modern world that lives in social media— to impress other people with our lifestyle and make us seem happy is our purpose. Sad but true.

Chief Hong follows the collectivist society. He cares about the community so much that he does a lot of work to help. It was also shown in the second episode that he listens to what other people say when he asks Hye-jin to change her workout outfit since it bothers the old neighbors. I also think his actions to help Hye-jin to gain their neighbors' trust after accidentally letting them hear how she thinks of the community — nosy, crosses boundaries, overshares— is for the neighborhood and not for the dentist. The first episode mentioned that their town does not have a dentist, so if the cold treatment continues, the clinic will close, and they have to drive 30 minutes to get to the nearest dental clinic, which is a hassle for everyone.

Family Background and Upbringing

Before entering a relationship, we think about our partner’s family background. Our parents also see to it that the person we’ll be romantically entangled with is decent based on social status and background. This is reasonable because one’s behavior is mainly based on what kind of family they have. I know it is unfair to judge people. Still, it is also according to studies that most persons have difficulties in relationships if they grew in a chaotic family or have missing family member/s. They tend to have hardship in keeping a relationship. It is not their fault. However, for me, it is only understandable if the person does not know how to navigate their life yet, meaning the person is not at a legal age yet to make decisions.

Chief Hong grew without his parents, but he grew up getting a lot of love from his grandfather and his neighbors. Because of this, he did not feel that something was lacking in his life. With Hye-jin, she grew up without a mother, which is difficult for a daughter, but it did not hinder her from being a good person. It’s because of how she kept the love she received from her mother when she was still alive. What I am trying to say is, family background is important, but it’s more important to know someone’s upbringing and how the person is dealing with what they do not have based on their behaviors.

I want to add; I admire Hwa-jeong and Young-guk’s parenting style. In the series, we see how I-jun is a perfect child, but let’s also appreciate how he grew up like this. Hwa-jeong and Young-guk do not treat their child as a kid, which is why he is mature. They make sure that he is heard and his opinion is respected. They taught I-jun that hard work is much significant and appreciated in every task done, and getting a reward is just a bonus. Observing his parents' work, I-jun also becomes an empathetic child. And most importantly, their household has open communication. Hwa-jeong and Young-guk explain things to him in a way that is easily understood. And they include him in the decision-making.

#hometown cha cha cha #korean drama #society and culture #parenting #thinking

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drivingsideways · 3 years

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Melo is My Nature Review

Well, as usual, I’m late to the party! I picked up 2019′s Melo is my Nature/ Be Melodramatic with some trepidation since I was (am!) still smarting a bit from the disappointment that’s Hospital Playlist S2, and I wasn’t quite ready for another.

I’m so glad I gave it a chance! While it isn’t a “perfect” series- in the nature of the world *sigh*- its combination of quirky, clever, self-aware humour and heartfelt performances won me over from the first episode.

More thoughts under the cut (along with some spoilers)

I’m very fond of ensemble dramas that love their characters, and “Melo is my Nature” does that very well. Perhaps a little too well, to the point that you feel the writers letting themselves be more than a little indulgent during the middle stretch of the episodes. But I can’t complain too much, because yes, I know the feeling! “Side characters” that refuse to stay in the lane and take over the narrative are also my favourites, as a writer and a viewer. I loved, loved, loved Lee Joo-bin as the flighty-but-amazingly-smart Lee So-min; that felt like such a delightful clap-back against the prevailing sentiment that often goes against young, successful women and the ridiculous levels of expectations of them, in how they need to perform gender and femininity and smartness. I loved that (like Emma! There’s a lot of Jane in this series!) the writers managed to make her likeable even though they never disregard her flaws or its consequences.

Another performance/ character that I totally adored was Baek Ji-won as Jeong Hye-jeong, the industry maven who may be (?) a nod to Kim Eun-sook, I suppose! I was afraid at some point that they’d just trash her character, by making her a little too ridiculous in an unkind way, but I found some of the loveliest scenes involved her- like the one where she tells Jin-joo to do the work, but not be too successful. In the end, there was a love and fondness for her, a genuine empathy, that really was core to what made this show so successful.

Shout out also to two of the weirdest characters I’ve watched, but thoroughly loved- Heo Joon-seok as Director Dong-gi & Lee Ji-min as Nutritionist (?) Da-mi. I absolutely adored that the only wedding in this series is between these two, and they do it in a completely predictably-unusual way.

Re: the “main” characters, I loved all of them without exception, though some more than the others :) One of the things I love about the show is how real and present the three female leads feel; they feel like whole, entire people rather than caricatures of them, even when the show reaches almost unusual levels of quirky. I love that a through-line of the narrative is how important women’s labour is- to themselves. The work they do, which is acknowledged as a part of their identity rather than just something they do to pay bills (though of course there’s acknowledgement of that aspect too!), their hunger to do it well and for it to matter- all of that is portrayed in a way that’s charming but still taken very seriously. And the way you know that its taken seriously is in the things they focus on- how Oh Jin-joo struggles to write alone, and how Han-joo’s learning to be someone’s mentor while struggling with her own insecurities, and how lost Eun-jung feels, when work which was supposed to give her purpose fails her in a time of crisis, and how unmoored she feels without it.

Re: the romance- I’m someone predisposed to dislike heterosexual romance, especially at the present moment, so it’s always with a great deal of hesitation that I start watching shows that I know have a large romance component. It’s always a bit of a coin toss for me whether the show will end up making me hate the romance or just about tolerate it. I rarely expect to *like * it. So “Melo is my Nature” was a pleasant surprise! This is one of the few series where I felt the writers put in the work to sell the “main romance” of the show. You get to know the Oh Jin-joo and Beom-soo in sharply etched sketches before they move into the romance part (with a lot of tongue-in-cheek meta humour about the formulaic nature of tv romances). I genuinely felt that thrill of “oh this could go platonic or romantic and I would like either” slowly ease into “oh my god these two are MEANT TO BE”, because the Romance is clearly in the all the ways they are NOT meant to be, but also, very, very definitely are. DELICIOUS. Just my cup of Jane Austen in a different context/ time.

Through most of the show though, my heart was divided between two characters- Jeon Yeo-bin’s stellar Eun-jung and Han Ji-eun’s pitch perfect Han-joo. Jeon Yeo-bin brought edginess, dark humour and a deep, almost- inconsolable grief to Eun-jung. Some of the stand out scenes of the entire series are hers: the moment where she watches herself on video talking to an imaginary person, and the moment she breaks down in front of the psych after talking about her mother. Watching this show, it really felt like- oh, she’s a star. Consider me sold on her for life (though, no, I will not watch Vincenzo unless there’s a Hong Cha-young supercut out there, in which case, please put it in my eyeballs now)

Han Ji-eun, imho, actually pulled off the toughest performance, because I think Han-joo’s strength of character is so often concealed by her “silliness” (in a similar vein to So-min’s), and that often makes her someone you’d overlook or not take seriously. But god, she broke my heart, from the scene in the first episode where she’s sitting alone at a table after a rough day and watching her horrible ex live his best life to the hilarious and excruciating “Oppa” scene, to the one where her kid is quite unconsciously cruel to her in the way kids can be. I was disappointed in the way they dropped the “reveal” about whom she’s dating in the last episode- not that I wanted her to be in an romance with Jae-hoon, god, NO- but it felt quite clunky. This is one of the two complaints I have with the show.

The second one is that starting from the middle, episodes began to noticeably feel like scenes/ sketches spliced together. Each scene is, within itself, perfectly written and performed, but the seams between the stories began to show. I felt one of the main reasons was that Eun-jung’s trauma tonally felt like it belonged in another show, but instead it had to get stitched into the mostly happy/ frothy storylines of the other characters. Sure, we had Hae-joon and his girlfriend’s terrible relationship, but the show had an easier time integrating that by way of Han-joo.

That said, I love how clever this show is! I love that it loves its own cleverness and can’t resist the urge to show it off- from all the meta references, in-universe jokes, and oh, that entire episode devoted to farting, complete with a song about it, which I think maybe my fave episode of the series. A great look at the place of performance in intimate relationships (and how the women bear the burden of it more than the men), but coming at it from a place of compassion and humour rather than anger. Love that choice, for the show and us!

I think @rain-hat mentioned in a comment here or twitter that Melo feels like a part of a triangle of shows along with Run On and Search : WWW. I’m inclined to swap out Run On for Rookie Historian, or huh, maybe change the triangle for a quadrangle? Rookie Historian dares to imagine a past where our protagonist is (mostly) unshackled by the patriarchy and in the “modern” ending to its main heterosexual romance, reminds us that people have always found ways to find joy and thrive outside the rigid bounds of society. Search: WWW goes about it in the opposite direction- placing us in a present/future where the patriarchy doesn’t and hasn’t ever mattered. Melo, I think, doesn’t quite do that, but in common with both these shows, it refuses to focus on the trauma of living under such structural violence, and instead talks about how we all (irrespective of gender) can find a way to remain unbroken by it. And while both Search:WWW and Melo do well at queer-platonic relationships as an alternate to the heterosexual project, it’s Run On, I think, which goes furthest there- firstly because though ostensibly structured around a het romance, that romance turns out to be falling in love with yourself/ loving yourself; secondly because it’s most explicitly queer in the choices that the characters make and the lives that they choose for themselves- Min-joo & May are each others darlings and will be for life, Yeong-hwa and Ki Seon-gyeom are allowed a tenderness in their friendship that feels like an explicit repudiation of toxic masculinity, and of course, you have May being asexual, but not aromantic, and Goh Ye-jun’s whole arc of accepting himself as a gay man, and finding acceptance of that identity from others.

Anyway! tl;dr would recommend (and have recommended!) Melo is my Nature to anyone fond of women, clever story telling and also ridiculously happy songs.

#kdrama #melo is my nature #be melodramatic #i gotta build a master list of my reviews #if only to save myself from tag and search misery #i'm a queue for you

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dreamcast-official · 3 years

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Alright, tell me about saint seiya.

YESSSSS THANK YOU BESTIE THIS SHOW IS SOO NORMAL I PROMISE <3

SO LET’S START WITH THE FACT THAT THE PROTAGONISTS ARE JUST A GROUP OF 13-YEAR-OLD BOYS WHO DONT FEAR DEATH AND ONE (1) 15-YEAR-OLD WHO THINKS HE’S THE SHIT (HE ISN’T). AND ALSO GOD IS THERE IG. GOD IS A 13-YEAR-OLD GIRL.

the power system and worldbuilding are soo good and the show will Not let you forget Anything unless they do. one episode has a character say “five bronze saints defeated a silver saint?” literally five times because you Need to understand that five bronze saints defeated a silver saint. on the other hand there’s some shit they’ll say one (1) time and then just think you’ll remember it and bring it up fifty episodes later. never forget how they introduced a rival character only to put him on the bus for the rest of the series. the main character’s whole ass character motive (finding his sister after they were separated so he could become a saint) was forgotten until the very goddamn end of this show it’s so funny

THIS SHOW IS LITERALLY THAT ONE POST THATS LIKE “WHEN THE SHOUNEN SO MISOGYNISTIC IT’S JUST GAY” AND WHILE I HATE THAT THEY DONT TREAT THE GIRL CHARACTERS WELL IT’S SOO FUNNY TO ME.

i also find it extremely hilarious how so much of this show is just these grown ass adults trying their goddamn hardest to kill these children. they just. can’t. like they just can’t fucking kill these kids it’s so funny to me. saga spent like the bigger half of the original 80s series trying to kill saori and he just couldn’t fucking do it this almost-30 man was just completely unable to kill this 13yo girl. because she’s god. thats why he couldnt kill her.

ALSO SDOIVHSFPDOVSHFD THESE 13YOS GROUPED UP AND KILLED THE CONCEPT OF DEATH. LIKE THEY KILLED HADES, THE GUY WHO’S BEEN ALIVE SINCE BEFORE THE WORLD, THE GUY WHO FINDS A NEW HOST EVERY 100 YEARS, THE GUY WHO KEEPS HIS HOSTS FOREVER AND KEEPS THEIR BODIES STASHED AWAY AFTER THEY DIE, THE GUY WHO IS LITERALLY DEATH. THESE 13YO BOYS WHO HAD A BIT OF A BAD DAY JUST FUCKIGN KILLED HIM. IT WAS SO FUNNY.

one of the boys just constantly removes his armor to get stronger which?/??? ok king. that’s the opposite of what removing your armor would do but ok. go off

the designs in this show are sooo fucking good except when they aren’t. trust me there’s a reason why a solid chunk of the gold saints never wear their helmets.

ALSO THE MUSIC FOR THIS SHOW FUCKS SO HARD?????? LIKE. PEGASUS FANTASY MY FUCKING BELOVED THIS SONG FUCKS SO HARD IT DOESN’T SURPRISE ME THEY REUSED IT FOR THE UNOFFICIAL SEQUEL (WHICH I ALSO LIKE DESPITE IT BEING REALLY BAD)

since this is me making this i need to say: andromeda shun is the best character in the entire franchise (this includes every spinoff, not just the actual series) and he’s the strongest of the bronze saints you people just don’t wanna admit that he’s stronger than ikki because he’s the “girly” one. also if you say shun is the girly one i’ll kill you all he did was wear pink and cry a little bit.

#the-mediocre-writer #milk.mail #saint seiya #I LITERALLY DONT HAVE THE WORDS TO THANK YOU FOR ASKING ABOUT THIS TALKING ABT STS IS SO FUNNY WHEN ITS TO PEOPLE WHO DONT KNOW ANYTHING ABO #UT IT #SHUN MY FUCKING BELOVED IM HOLDING HIM. APHRODITE ALSO MY BELOVED IM SORRY I DIDNT TALK ABOUT YOU KING

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celestial-demonic-pacts · 3 years

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hehehe slips this in ur ask box

Giovanna held back a laugh, pacing around her bedroom trying to figure out what to do next. Of COURSE her trick backfired. She had meant to hit the demon brothers with a truth spell, but how was she supposed to remember she had plans with Beatrix who happened to walk in and distract her enough to accidently hit them.

"Okay! This is fine. You can just stay here with me so the brothers can't annoy you, and also so I can still surprise them with it at a later date. I DID already text Lily, though. So she's on her way. But that's the only one who needs to know!" She flashed Trix her best puppy dog eyes, hoping for both forgiveness and agreement to stay in her room. Lighting up when the blonde gave in, she pulled them over to the comfortable chairs in her room.

"Soo.. While I have you here. Do I get to annoy you? Because, darling, I would love to hear about whatever's going on between you and Satan. Asmo mentioned you've been spending more time with him lately…" Gio didn't exactly want to admit why she was asking, even if a part of her knew that Trix already knew.

"Oh! I also feel I should ask how you're enjoying RAD- Working for Dia and all. I won't tell him if you hate it. But unlike Lily, you could have left so I assume you enjoy it? Wait wait another thing!" Gio paused, trying to gauge what Trix would say to what she wanted to ask. "Not to ask about the boys again, but if you decide to go for Satan, do you think As-"

Before Gio could spit the question out, Lily knocked and entered asking why the text seemed to urgent, mentioning she had to make up an excuse to get Mammon off her arm to come alone as Gio had told her to do. Upon being told she couldn't help but to laugh a bit, quieting at a look that just said "this could be you."

Joining them on the furniture, Lily stayed quiet sensing she interrupted something before blurting out

"Hey Trix? Not to bother you with questions you apparently have to answer but what's your favorite part of living down here? I mean. Not that I'm starting to or anything I'm just curious." They threw a glance at Gio, who was looking at them as if to encourage more, "And. Again, not that it's a big deal but.. The brothers. Do you think they hate me since I was so mean when I first got here" Looking at her friends faces she blushed, and stared at a painting on Giovanna's wall "You don't have to answer that one, actually pretend I didn't ask", groaning when Trix did indeed answer

Beatrix thought this would be a normal day… well more normal than the crazy antics that the brothers brought everywhere they went. Upon opening the door to Gio’s bedroom something hit them. They felt a tingle rush through them and it took them a moment to realize Giovana had put a spell on them. Her thought of a normal day hanging out with Gio was now tossed out the window as Gio explained what type of spell it was. Truth. ‘Ah this will be fun’ Trix thought to herself, as Gio pulled her in and sat her down. While she was unhappy about now spending the day trapped here, well not trapped it was a good way to escape the brothers and just have a gals day with Lily on the way, so it wouldn’t be too bad.

“You know I’ll forgive you, babes. You don’t even have to pull those puppy eyes.” She chuckled softly, wow this truth spell was strong. She’d have to get it from Gio after, it would be fun and as an agent of chaos herself Gio will need help with getting all of the brothers. Trix got comfortable, tossing a leg over the arm of the chair while the other curled under her, leaning back against the opposite corner. “Of course you do, you always can.” The first question was easy, the second..

A bright red blush rushed across her cheeks as Beatrix sat up properly. “Well I- You know..” She tried to stall, even fight the spell but it was useless. “I.. We’ve been flirting. It just happened one day like we were reading together, and he shows me a passage in his book that was a descriptive passage about the female protagonist from the love interests point of view. And I hate to admit when it hit me it was him flirting because I’m a dumbass and just went ‘Oo that’s a good passage I like that’ and went back to reading because you know I’m dumb. Anyways eventually it evolved from there into chirps and quips about the other. Like one day I scored higher than him on an exam and teased him about it all day, which I didn’t even think about pushing the Avatar of Wrath’s buttons. I just think he’s cute when he’s all flustered and pouty, y’know. So yeah we’ve been spending more time together because of that but also we talk a lot. And I dunno so it’s something but like I don’t know what but like I dunno he just, y’know!” Trix tried to explain but there was just this feeling of safe and warm whenever he was around her. They sounded crazy to themself sometimes but just something clicked and it felt right, like he belonged.

“RAD? It’s interesting. It’s not what I wanted to get into that day but something brought me here and well we know who that is now but it’s not bad here. I’ve only been to one actual school before and that wasn’t even school, it was more like a training camp, so it’s actually fun for me. I like the classes, they remind me of home and I’ve always wanted to learn more about the other realms and human books give no information about it. And getting to experience it all first hand is so amazing. I really do enjoy it here. I’m happy the interesting looks of “who the fuck just fell into Mammon’s lap” and “Why the fuck did she fall into Mammon’s lap” and “Holy shit why are you in my lap” kept me here, you know along with actually wanting to know stuff but like that was funny. Poor Mammon, his face was priceless!” Trix laughed at the memory, too distracted to even notice how the truth spell let her mouth loosen and words freely flow. “Huh?” Trix pulled back to just miss what Gio asked when Lily had entered, taking the blonde’s attention, giving a nod in a way of agreement as she got comfortable on the chair again now that the hard question was answered.

“I mean it’s just interesting. But I also like the night time here more. It’s darker and there’s a ton more stars in the sky and I mean nothing beats back home but its just fuckin’ pretty ya know. And there’s less light pollution so it’s perfect to lay out in the garden and just look up.” Trix said honestly, they loved back home but here they felt more at Home.

“Hate you? No they don’t hate you Lils, they love you. They were kinda dicks in the beginning too. But now they wouldn’t know what to do if you left. And this is about all of them, they all love you. We’ve helped them so much and gotten them to talk about their family shit, you know they’d make pacts if they hate you? No, they love and trust you so much. Powerful demons like them wouldn’t just give their power away so easily that has to be earned or you have to peak their interest. Trust me I know, I actually studied that. Plus a lesser demon is easy to bully into a pact, that’s how I got a few of these but that is a story for another day because I could go on about pacts but I won’t because you didn’t ask about that. But there is one brother that loves more than the others.

And since I’m under a truth spell I can’t ignore a question I have to answer and I have to be honest,” Truth spell or not, Trix will still be a smartass. “So you know Mammon really really loves you. Like Love Love. The boy is head over heels and it's sweet. But god you should hear how he can go on about you and how excited he gets whenever he talks about you. He might’ve been a bit rough in the beginning but that was before he got to know you and trust you. Now he’s fallen in love, and we all know you are crushing too so you should totally say something! Lils you have nothing to lose because it’ll turn out good. You deserve good things, ya know and this is something really good that is waiting for you, because you’ll probably have to make the first move because he’s a dumbass who also thinks you don’t like him like that because he misses how you look at him. Don’t deny it! We all see how you stare, so just trust your heart and don’t overthink it. You’ll be lucky hun.”

#Ask the ocs #answered #Beatrix

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freewilllife · 4 years

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“Hi, it´s me again :)

I might have, unintentionally, offended Hak fans in my earlier post about him being an “empty” character and I am sorry about that :(

In fact, as I started to watch the anime I came mainly for the story of Yona and Hak, or at least what I was expecting. I was really in my rare mood of reading an intense fluffy romance.

However, I was surprised that there was actually no true “Hak and Yona story”. And that´s both positive and negative I guess.

Positive because of the variety of the plot. It´s a rich story that offers more than a childish shojo fluff. And that explain why many of shounen fans are also followers of Akatsuki no Yona.

Negative because, unlike a story where the two main characters grow up together emotionally and personality wise since they are both the focus of the story. At least at the beginning, Hak can pass for a secondary character. That means if he dies, the story can continue just fine.If it was another kind of literature, we could have just imagine an angsty love story -a-la-Romeo-and-Juliet between king Sowoon and princess Yona and that would totally make sense (I absolutely don´t ship them but I find the parallel thingy so creative).

I think, this is where the mangaka made a mistake. She made Hak as a “puppet” main character, that serves for fan service and shipping. Or she seemed to have splitted the main male protagonist into Sowoon and Hak and didn´t know what to do with Hak.

Anyway, this is my first objective perception. The manga keeps going. I hope that the mangaka can find inspiration and give each character their fair chance of the story. They are all amazing :)”

Hi,

I do think that your perception does not differ that greatly from my perspective. Hak is really a character that has many features the usual hero in a shojo manga has:

Handsome, intelligent, the strongest guy in the entire manga without a good reason…

I mean, even if we all read the same manga, we do see different things.

However, I would say that he is a far more complex character than it may appear at the first glance. I would like to show my reading of his character, if you want...or course you could it also read it later, since this will be most likely a spoiler….

Hak is generally a character I was pretty uninterested for a long time until I read one or two chapters that changed my mind. Though I do still think that he is still a character that needs to be explored more by the mangaka!

I am well aware that this is my subjective reading of his character and there are other interpretations out there…but here I go…

I have to warn you ahead…I won´t pay much attention to the romance, but more to the relationship between the three mains regarding Hak´s character analysis! I will try to address the issue chronologically! Naturally!

part I: Since his childhood Hak has a pretty low self-esteem due to his adoption!

In chapter 4 the mangaka showed the event, where Soo Won, Hak and Yona became friends. Yona is about 6 years old and Hak and Soo Won are 9 years old. All three fell sick and both Soo Won and Hak defend King Il…All three wish for the friendship, (especially Soo Won…)

This is most likely the source of Hak´s low self-esteem, since he shows here clearly that he doubts the feelings of his grand-father for him. Immediately mentioning that he is not related to Mundoek by blood! (I heard that this actually happens pretty often with children who were adopted: That they have trouble with self-esteem!)

part II: Hak and Soo Won are part of a team…One half of a whole…

I think that Hak and Soo Won are constructed that they are both one half of a whole…two people who share a great resemblance, but are also in some parts complete opposites…I can only shortly hint, since I would another full post to explain in every detail, what I mean…so let´s make it short:

Hak and Soo Won become each other´s aim: a catalyst for growth!

Chapter 60: Young Leaves in the Wind:

It is the chapter where Yona is captured and both Soo Won and Hak are able to rescue her by working together!

Hak and Yona learn that Hak is actually a person that is used to take care of others…Yona is still 6 years old, Hak and Soo Won are 9 years old

We can see that impressed Soo Won pretty much…I would say as much as that:

Soo Won is attracted to people who are strong and that is Hak…

Hak is impressed by Soo Won´s influence on people pretty soon! He can move people and just as much…Soo Won is impressed by Hak´s abilities: He is strong, dependable and cool! That´s exactly what Soo Won wishes to be!

At the end they both decide to become each others aim!

Finally, somebody is reaching Hak regarding his low self-esteem! Soo Won is looking at him!

And Soo Won is a person Hak admires himself and that guy wishes to become like him!

Hak wishes to become worthy! He starts to train and learn!

At the age of 13 years Hak defeats Geuntae and wins the annual tournament!

Geuntae realizes that a new wind is blowing! This applies to both Hak and Soo Won! (Sorry I couldn´t find the chapter unfortunately!)

part III: Hak is threatened to lose his aim and the beginning of the illusion!

chapter 125: This scene is clearly an example how can a few words actually shatter a dream. Hak and Soo Won must be about 13 years old here. Around the time he has won the tournament.

I think that Hak most likely still wished to be Soo Won´s equal and he realizes that he has feelings for Yona or he would not ask! He is unsure and most likely is aware that Yona likes Soo Won…but he still cannot fully give up or he would not ask…That is my interpretation…

Now Hak does not realize that Soo Won has already changed:

I think that Kusanagi changes the appearance of the characters if a change has occured within them: Remember Yona cut her hair, when she decided to live her life!

That means Soo Won has already changed: He has now long hair and wears showier clothes while Hak still appears in the clothes of years ago…He has still the same mindset, but Soo Won doesn´t anymore!

Soo Won most likely already knows:

That King Il killed his father…

Why his mother had to die…

Who he is

That he will kill his uncle one day

And Hak interprets Soo Won´s strange behaviour and answer, where he actually tried to avoid the answer..as something completely different! Soo Won does not wish to face him here!

Hak misunderstands and thinks Soo Won is somebody he cannot reach…

“In the future even if I would no longer be able to walk beside you as your equal..”

That means Hak is threatened to lose his aim…

Now Soo Won has to become king! He stands above him!

part IV: Hak meets Jae ha and expresses for the first time that he wishes to travel (chapter 182.5)

Surprisingly Hak still didn´t stop to try it, even though he is already afraid that he won´t reach Soo Won anymore…

Hak is also already aware that he loves Yona, but he more or less has started to give up before even trying…even though he still seems unwilling to do so…

Hak finds his weapon and meets a person that gives him a taste of the wide world…and of possible stronger people that exist…

Hak knew that he loved Yona way before…

part V: Hak´s change: Hak accepts his position as the Wind Tribe General!

chapter 3: Hak finds a new aim by being Yona´s bodyguard and King Il becomes his master.

We can see here, in chapter 3, where Hak may be 15 years old, that his low self-estem hasn´t changed, when he grew older…or more he fell back, after he was further at some point. Hak is aimless and drifting. He doesn´t know what to do at that moment regarding his future.

I think that it is not an accident that the mangaka placed it here. It shows that Hak doesn´t know what to do with himself…He is moody and partly seems pretty upset.

Instead of attending the meeting, he refuses. He doesn´t wish to be Soo Won´s equal anymore…seeing Yona must be painful for him…He decided to not even try…

In addition, Hak doesn´t wish for further influence. He fears the conspiracies of the nobles. Hak is not that interested in politics. He is a person that is more interested in certain people he cares for….A clear difference in comparison to Soo Won!

That it is actually after the event above, we can see that he now addresses Soo Won by “Lord Soo Won”

Hak is clearly jealous here and he wishes to separate himself from her…but it just doesn´t work…If he cares for people, he cares for them…

Yona has won him over…he can clearly see the light in her…and the strength Soo Won is still not able to see…

Hak accepts the responsibility that comes with protecting Yona. He announces his position!

And he also can see the strength in King Il..they become both his new masters, because he can not leave them alone…

and that is the moment he most likely gave up his dream to ever reaching Soo won…to vow Yona completely.

chapter 134,5 : Later Hak changes his attire as well to fit in his new position as Wind Tribe General!

Hak still shows that he cares about Yona, mentions that to Soo Won and seems to already wishing to get them together…But Soo Won doesn´t see and tries to distance himself from the other two…

part VI: The illusion

Hak wished for Soo Won to be king and for Yona to have the person she loves (He just doesn´t ask Soo Won, what he intended…)

chapter 11: Hak tells Soo Won that he wishes for him to marry Yona and become king…He even tells him that he only will recognize him, if he does so…

part VII: The masks fall…A broken illusion

Chapter 2: Soo Won betrays both Hak and Yona and both cannot believe what happens…

It is interesting that Hak finally draws near Soo Won again…He stops calling Soo Won “Lord” and addresses him merely by his name!

This time Soo Won faces him, yet avoids him again…

Hak most likely is still under shock at that moment…just like Yona…

I think it is pretty important, that Hak asks that question…Because…yup…it was an illusion he saw…

We know of course, what Soo Won meant, when he said: That he was never the Soo Won he knew…

#akatsuki no yona #hak #soo won #submission

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squirrelwrangler · 4 years

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@anghraine: Interesting—I have a really similar personal background, but I almost always glom onto protagonists and particularly special, chosen protagonists (Daine is my fave by a mile in Tortall, say, and I think the only side character I have as a top-tier fave is Faramir, who is a kind of special case. IDK!

Yeah, your post plus the Dune musing is what made me think about this because our reactions on these sort of tropes are similar and yet almost exactly opposite. Like, I’m not sure if I can say that I actively despise the ‘extra special chosen one of a kind protagonist’ except I think I do, I think there has to be a certain element to them to not make me automatically hate them or at least rank them as way below every other member of the heroic side of the cast. Diane is far and away my least favorite of all of Tamara’s protagonists, even outside of Tortall, even without factoring in the Numair romance which is squick, and it’s especially weird because I read her books while deep in my Wolf Girl phase (which was around the time of the Horse Girl Book phase but deeper. Any YA book about a kid and wolf was my jam). And that I hate her in part because oh she’s soo much more powerful than everyone else. But I think it was also that the protagonists were always boring or the mysteries weren’t as teased nicely as what would be going on with a side character, too extroverted, or that they by virtue of being the protagonist in the narrative too quickly and easily shed the outsider status if they had that. To the outsider kid who was moved too often and didn’t get a magical ‘brand-new place, everything’s different in the interpersonal as well as setting’ aspect, I think that’s why the isseikai genre also is hit-or-miss for me at the deep subconscious level: ending up in a brand new place isn’t going to make you not the outcast weirdo kid.

Now it’s also probably telling that the Disney protagonists I related to were Ariel and especially Belle with that outcast/hiding the special interests, their drives were wanting knowledge, that I read a lot of Baby-sitter’s Club and projected onto Mary-Ann. That I was bullied in elementary school for expressing myself and thus notice and attention like that is a nope, so the most relatable part of a CHosen One protagonist is that gut “oh no please not me, I want to be overlooked by the plot and stay normal’ moment.

#replies #anghraine #as dissatisfying as it was to read at first that Llyod Alexander trilogy where the anti-monarchal revolution overthrows the restored princes #i want to return to that idea and end it less cynically #thinks back to Ring of Fire and its critique of the Great Men Drive History myth

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malaysiankpopfans · 4 years

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6 REASONS TO WATCH IT’S OKAY TO NOT BE OKAY

The drama we’ve all been waiting for!

Searching for your next favorite drama? Look no further, It’s Okay to Not Be Okay is here! Two people who live in completely different worlds and have different personalities experience love and healing for the first time. There’s more to the story than just love though due to major family drama, bromance, and mystery! If that’s not exciting enough, check out what to look forward to below!

1. Kim Soo-hyun Lighting Up Our Screens

Kim Soo-hyun’s last drama was The Producers in 2015 and while he made some notable cameos in Hotel del Luna and Crash Landing on You, his official drama comeback has been very long-awaited. The actor portrayed diverse characters throughout his career from an aspiring K-pop star to a North Korean spy and an extraterrestrial alien. With Kim Soo-hyun’s acting range and handsome looks, you will definitely be in for a treat!

2. Not Your Usual Female Lead

Say goodbye to bland female leads! Ko Mun-yeong (Seo Yea-ji) is not your typical female protagonist as she has an anti-social disposition and lacks empathy skills. Definitely not your typical plucky and kind female lead! While Ko Mun-yeong might not be a character you immediately fall in love with, she’s refreshingly candid and free of prejudice. Other interesting facts include her fondness for sharp knives, her lack of fear, and her willingness to fight malicious people. She’ll definitely grow on you as she begins to heal and shed her protective shield.

3. Spotlight on Autism

There’s a severe shortage of K-dramas with autistic characters. The most recent one was Good Doctor and that aired in 2013, so this is long overdue! Moon Sang-tae (Oh Jung-se) is on the autism spectrum and is frequently misunderstood. The best way to combat misguided preconceptions is to simply learn more. Sang-tae will surely win over viewers’ hearts with his pure innocence and bright smile.

4. Chemistry-Loaded Romance

The chemistry between Kim Soo-hyun and Seo Yea-ji is visibly electric! The stunning pair is such a visual feast and they portray a very intriguing love story. Polar opposites find something familiar within one another and become drawn to each other. We’re also in for a fun reversal. Instead of the guy chasing after the girl, Ko Mun-yeong is the one pursuing Moon Gang-tae. Let the sparks fly!

5. Murder Mystery

Moon Gang-tae and Sang-tae’s mother was mysteriously murdered 18 years ago. Sang-tae witnessed the murder, but remains highly traumatized. When asked about the identity of the murderer, Sang-tae is only able to say a “butterfly” killed his mother. Since the murderer warned Sang-tae not to reveal their identity and threatened his life, Sang-tae remains very scared. This is why the brothers move every year, to run away from the killer. Time to solve a murder mystery!

6. Multiple Reunions

With such a star-studded cast, it’s no surprise that some of the actors have previously worked together. Check out some of the reunions below:

Kim Soo-hyun and Kim Chang-wan portrayed best friends in My Love From Another Star.

Park Gyu-young and Kang Ki-doong were a cute couple in Romance Is a Bonus Book.

Seo Yea-ji and Kim Chang-wan both acted in Hwarang as well. Also, Kim Mee-kyung and Oh Jung-se portrayed siblings in Plus Nine Boys. You’ll have to tune in to see what their characters’ relationships will be like on It’s Okay to Not Be Okay.

There’s so much to look forward to, don’t miss out! It’s Okay to Not Be Okay is available only on Netflix, with weekly episodes every Saturday and Sunday.

Synopsis

Moon Gang-tae (Kim Soo-hyun) works as a caregiver in a psychiatric ward. He lovingly takes care of his brother, Sang-tae (Oh Jung-se), who is eight years older than him and on the autism spectrum. Fate leads Gang-tae to meet a special woman. The woman, Ko Mun-yeong (Seo Yea-ji), is a popular author of children's books, but she is extremely selfish, arrogant, and rude. It’s Okay to Not Be Okay features an unusual romance between two people who end up healing each other’s emotional and psychological wounds.

#ItsOkayToNotBeOkay #사이코지만괜찮아 #tvN #Netflix #KimSooHyun #김수현 #SeoYeJi #서예지 #OhJungSe #오정세

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dangermousie · 4 years

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Drama ramble that takes us from Touch to Mr. Sunshine to The Heirs - the good, the bad, and the ugly - but which is which, you may ask

I guess my dilemma whether to check out Touch is solved for me. I was kind of iffy on it because I like Joo Sang Wook but am not familiar with anyone else in the cast, I find make-up artists and idols not professions I am interested in as a setting outside of some true cracky set-ups not present here, and while I can deal with a large age difference in either a period setting or if it somehow makes sense in the story, I wasn’t sure that would be the case here. But it’s out of my hands now because I am pretty sure nobody is subbing it (viki bought it but it’s at 0% for days with no team set) and I am certainly not invested enough to watch raw.

I am also six eps into Mr. Sunshine and it’s such a quality drama. Not to mention visually stunning - the scene with Eugene at his parents’ graves is poetry. Plus the acting is top-notch: say what you will about Lee Byung Hun on a personal level, as an actor, he is uniformly excellent and the rest are equally good.

I don’t have much of a ship in this drama, which is unusual for me. I like Ae Shin x Eugene just fine but I think it’s because the drama and the characters are about so many other things first, over love.

I do think Kim Eun Sook is one of the most consistently solid kdrama writers out there. I’ve seen almost every one of her dramas - the Lovers trilogy, City Hall, On Air, Secret Garden, A Gentleman’s Dignity, the Heirs, Descendants of the Sun, Goblin, now Mr Sunshine. (The only one I haven’t watched is her very first one, South of the Sun, which I’d love to because I adore both melos and Choi Min Soo.) They vary wildly in genre from romcom to melo to fantasy to sageuk (and within those divisions they are still on very different ends of the spectrum - City Hall with its political sophisticated banter and 30+ protagonists is miles away from e.g., bratty high school hijinks of The Heirs) but they almost uniformly work for me.

The only exceptions are The Heirs and (sort of) DOTS. And DOTS is not even a proper exception - it’s a solidly-written and directed drama with good chemistry between the leads. I probably would have enjoyed it immensely if it wasn’t so hyped by the time I got around to it, that no drama could have lived up to the expectations. Also, that setting made me want an intense melo, which is a purely personal preference (think Swallow the Sun), while this drama stayed lighter throughout. But still, it was a pleasant enough watch.

The Heirs is the sole one of her dramas that didn’t work for me - I didn’t loathe it like a number of tumblr peeps, but it was a blah drag that I finally dumped. But I think it’s a combo of things. There was all the miscasting - I adore Lee Min Ho but a Rui-type guy is not a role that plays to his strengths; quite the opposite. It would have been much better to cast someone like Lee Jong Suk, though the School 2013 reunion with him and KWB would certainly switch any shipping focus from the heroine. Park Shin Hye is not an actress I am enthusiastic about but she’s worked for me in other dramas; however she tends to be better playing spunky or forthright - her poor heroine character in The Heirs was so mousy, she disappeared into wallpaper, so she needed an actress who can take over the screen by sheer charisma even if the role is underwritten (think Jung So Min or Park Min Young, though the latter would have been hella awkward for all concerned.) Kim Woo Bin was excellent (about the only excellent job in the cast, IMO) but his character was pretty much Baek Kyung from Extraordinary You, if BK didn’t figure out he was a character in a comic book, and the appeal for that sort of thing is limited for me. There was a bunch of other actors, ranging from OK to not good to good but so wasted in the role. And they were all much too freaking old!!! I still have no idea why the drama wasn’t set in college at the very least - if we take Lee Min Ho alone, he played a high school student after he portrayed an almost-30 year old general in Faith (!!!) or a definitely-adult killing machine assassin in City Hunter (!!!!). I kept expecting hoping for him to snap out of it and start breaking necks!

But the thing is, while the casting was blah, the story was the real problem for me. I think it’s pretty significant that the sole KES drama that didn’t work for me at all is the sole drama she has done where the protagonists are not full-fledged adults. I think her narrative thrust and her verbal ticks and character beats work best when she is writing grown-up people. Teen drama is not her forte, to put it mildly. The setting of The Heirs has neither life and death stakes sageuk/fantasy/adventure dramas have, nor even the emotional stakes of grown ups coping with really grown-up issues that have more heft (in City Hall for example, it is about fight against corruption, Kim Sun Ah being able to achieve her ideals and Cha Seung Won saving his soul but even in such a light trifle of a drama like AGD, it’s pretty clear, for example, that at 40-something, it’s Jang Dong Gun’s last chance for true love and lasting relationship.) I am not saying a story about teenagers in a non-period or non-fantasy setting cannot have real genuine stakes, but The Heirs does not manage to create them, or convey it effectively. Some of it is that my sympathy for rich brats is limited, but even when there is genuine issues like with Kim Woo Bin being abused by his father, it’s really not handled in any way that’s likely to engender interest and investment...

OK, I have no idea where this rant is going so I am going to stop...

#kdrama #channel a touch #mr sunshine #the heirs #kim eun sook #kim eun suk

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steven-falls · 4 years

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Gravity Falls reviewed: Tourist Trapped

What I’m struck by when I rewatch ‘Tourist Trapped’ is how many times it tries to pull one over on the audience. We start off with protagonist Dipper’s narration over the peaceful family picnic, only for a fake out reveal that he and his sister Mabel are actually being chased down by some giant monster. So then we’re left anticipating this giant monster, only to be introduced to Mabel’s zombie boyfriend, only for that zombie to turn out to be a bunch of Gnomes, only for all those gnomes to then join together to form some giant living mech, which turns out to be the monster from the episode’s opening.

When all these plot points are bullet pointed like this, they can come across as some abrupt shifts. But the episode actually telegraphs all of these shifts well enough that they manage to flow quite naturally. As Dipper says in the episode’s opening: ‘Rest assured; there’s a perfectly logical explanation. Let’s rewind.’

Before the plot even gets started we’re introduced to our setting and characters. Gravity Falls introduction as a setting is pretty simple: It’s a sleepy town that twelve year old twins Dipper and Mabel Pines have been sent to, to stay with their great uncle (or ‘Grunkle’) Stan. We don’t really see much of the town itself in this episode, just the cabin where Stan lives (Which doubles as a tourist trap named ‘the Mystery Shack’) and the surrounding forest. This helps create the atmosphere that the kids are stuck in the middle of the wilderness. The only major human characters introduced in the pilot are the five main characters; The three aforementioned Pines’, along with Stan’s handyman Soos and the Mystery Shack’s teenage employee Wendy. Most of the supporting townsfolk aren’t introduced until the second episode. As a duo, Dipper and Mabel balance each other out perfectly. Dipper is so curious about his surroundings that he can always be relied upon to move the plot along. Meanwhile, Mabel makes for some great comic relief. Whenever the series goes into a darker direction she can be used to lighten the mood.

The way Mabel is written in this episode seriously impresses me. She provides like half the jokes in this episode and they all pretty much land.

The highlight for me has to be Mabel’s interaction with the gnomes. I particularly love the part where the gnomes first reveal their true identity to Mabel. The head gnome just keeps rambling on about needing to marry Mabel to make her their new queen while Mabel just sits looking dejected on a rock. The way Mabel trails off while trying to gently let down the gnomes sounds so naturalistic, its like you can feel her cautiously choosing every word. It sounds like such an authentic break up for such a silly situation.

Honestly, trying to force a twelve year old into marriage is pretty dark, but because the gnomes are small, weird, and not particularly threatening the writers get away with it.

If the jokes aren’t coming from Mabel and her love life then they’re probably coming from Stan and Soos popping up. Stan’s appearances are pretty much just a string of old man and shyster jokes. But there are a couple moments thrown in at the end to show there is some depth to his character. Such as when finally Stan shows some compassion to the twins by letting them take a gift from his shop.

Speaking of, Dipper’s hat is so iconic to his design that it’s funny to think he just found it in the mystery shack. It’s a bit surprising no one else around town has one.

Soos is also set up as a standard comic relief character. The thing I find funniest about his portrayal is how Dipper actually takes his advice.

Surprisingly, my favourite character introduction is actually Wendy’s, it’s just so concise. She only has two lines in the entire episode, but they telegraph her character really well.

The first line shows her laid back and lazy attitude toward work, and the second shows her supportive friendship with Dipper. Plus both these moments double as jokes, so it’s not like its needless exposition about a character we barely see in this episode. You could also argue that Wendy’s brief appearance foreshadows how Wendy would be pretty under utilised in the series as a whole, but that’s an issue for future episodes.

After the status quo is established Dipper is sent into ‘the spooky part of the forest’ by Stan. (I love that Stan specifies ‘spooky’). This is where Dipper finds the object that really gets the plot rolling: The journal.

I appreciate how the journal Dipper finds is numbered as the third one. Dipper later mentions how the journal abruptly ends, suggesting that it is the last journal in a set of three. The audience knows there’s exactly two more of these things to look out for, whereas if Dipper had found the first or second one we would have been left guessing how many of these things there actually are.

The journal simultaneously drives Dippers actions by flaming his suspicions, whilst it also foreshadows where the plot is going. The journal contains both an entry on zombies, which Dipper mistakes as the initial threat, and also an entry on gnomes, who turn out to be the real antagonists. I particularly like how they foreshadow the gnomes in that joke where Dipper means to show Mabel the zombies page and opens up the gnomes page instead.

The gnome page actually crops up a few times throughout the episode, but its appearances are brief enough that you don’t necessarily predict the final gnome reveal on your first watch through, but it’s there to be appreciated on repeat viewings.

Whilst the zombie to gnome shift is foreshadowed quite well, they don’t do as much to telegraph the gnomes forming into a giant mech. My personal issue with this shift is that the giant ravenging monster the gnomes form into is like the complete opposite of the silly small creatures the gnomes are portrayed as prior.

The gnome monster does have a cool design however. I like how its sharp teeth are formed by gnome hats. Plus it leads to a chase scene, which makes for a climactic action set piece.

Dipper does tell us in the opening scene that the episode is going to end with a monster chase, so we at least know the direction the episode is going, meaning the gnomes forming a giant living mech doesn’t cause as much whiplash as it should. Although, I suppose if five of them were able to come together to form a teenager, why not a giant gnome mech?

I mentioned in my intro that the episode keeps pulling one over on the audience. But why does the episode feel the need to pull multiple rugs out from underneath the audiences feet? Well, it shows that everything about Gravity Falls (Both the town and the show) is Not What it Seems, which is one of the main conceits of the show. Obviously everyone who’s watched the show knows this, there’s literally a coded message in the intro saying so. (okay tbf it says ‘Stan is not what he seems’ but you could still apply that to the town as a whole). Not only is this seemingly boring town actually paranormal, but the paranormal activity itself isn’t even what you’d expect. You want zombie survival horror? Too bad, you get arranged gnome marriages instead.

And really that’s what Tourist Traps purpose as a pilot is; to lay out and introduce the themes of the show. And rewatching this episode after watching the whole series, it’s impressive just how many themes of the show are introduced from the very first episode. For example, one of the main conflicts of this episode is whether or not the twins can trust each other, and this theme of trust comes back in a big way later.

Tourist Trapped lays out so many intriguing mysteries, from the mysterious journal, to the secrets of Gravity Falls, to the final shot of Stan entering into a secret room behind his vending machine. It’s enough to leave you invested and wanting to find out more. And that’s how you know Tourist Trapped is a successful pilot.

#gravity falls #tourist trapped #dipper pines #mabel pines #wendy corduroy #stan pines #SF reviews GF #long post #review

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aion-rsa · 4 years

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Hamilton Movie: Meet the Original Cast

https://ift.tt/31Q9KEP

Wait For It. More than just one of the best songs in Hamilton—that Aaron Burr has soul!—those words signify how long fans around the world have waited to see Hamilton performed. Not everyone could afford a ticket at the height of the musical’s popularity or lived near a city where the touring show has visited. Yet now, in times when the lights across Broadway are out, we all can be in the room where it happens.

Thanks to Disney+, and the $75 million the Walt Disney Company shelled out for the rights, a filmed performance with the original Broadway cast of Hamilton is here. For the diehards who’ve listened to the original Broadway cast recording hundreds of times, it’s like seeing old friends when Anthony Ramos as John Laurens, Daveed Diggs as Marquis de Lafayette, and Okieriete Onaodowan as Hercules Mulligan walk into a bar. But for those who may not have the soundtrack memorized by heart, and painful memories of standing outside the Richard Rodgers Theatre for the original Hamilton lottery, here’s a rundown of who’s who.

Lin-Manuel Miranda – Alexander Hamilton

A multi-hyphenate talent long before he stepped into Alexander Hamilton’s wool stockings, Lin-Manuel Miranda has had one of the most impressive careers of his generation in theater. The son of Dr. Luz Towns-Miranda and Luis A. Miranda Jr., the latter of whom arrived in New York as a Puerto Rico transplant and went on to become an advisor in Mayor Ed Koch’s administration, Lin-Manuel came from an impressive background. He arguably began his professional career at Wesleyan University by writing a one-act musical his sophomore year: In the Heights. Born and bred in New York, Lin strove to write a musical that infused the freestyle rap and salsa rhythm that he loved growing up in Washington Heights with the American musical tradition.

It impressed enough contemporaries and eventually professional producers that Miranda was able to spend years retooling it alongside playwright Quiara Alegría Hudes for Connecticut theater, Off-Broadway, and finally Broadway. All the while Miranda played protagonist Usnavi de la Vega in addition to having written the music and lyrics. It went on to win the Tony for Best Original Musical and Best Original Score, paving the way for Hamilton. Indeed, it was during an invitation to the Obama White House in 2009 as the In the Heights wunderkind where Miranda announced he was writing a hip hop album about Alexander Hamilton… and then shocked everyone with a stunning version of the show’s opening song.

Hamilton of course became a generation-defining musical that Miranda wrote the music, lyrics, and book for, in addition to playing the titular U.S. Treasury Secretary. Both as an Off-Broadway production at the Public Theater and Broadway behemoth, Hamilton made headlines and sold out performances. The musical won its creator international acclaim, numerous Tonys, Drama Desk Awards, and a Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It also paved the way for Miranda to have a career in Hollywood.

Starring in Disney’s Mary Poppins Returns (2018), Miranda has developed a close relationship with the Mouse House where he’s also written and co-written songs for Moana (2016), which he received an Oscar nomination for, and the upcoming The Little Mermaid remake. He is also an outspoken advocate for Puerto Rico where he spent summers with his grandparents growing up. After hurricanes Irma and María in 2017, Miranda has raised funds for rescue efforts and rebuilding, including by reprising the role of Alexander Hamilton in a touring production that began with performances in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In advance of the tour, his family donated $1 million to the University of Puerto Rico. And just for the record, he plays the voice of Gizmoduck on the new DuckTales.

Leslie Odom Jr. – Aaron Burr

Likely still best known for playing Aaron Burr both off and on Broadway, Leslie Odom Jr.’s theater career began well before Hamilton. Getting his start by playing the significant supporting part of Paul on Broadway in Rent in 1998 (Odom was aged 17 at the time), the actor moved into a stage career quickly while also pursuing a BFA at Carnegie Mellon University. Born in Queens and growing up in Philadelphia, Odom had a lifelong love of the theater, which led to him rising up through the wings where he played ensemble roles in Jersey Boys, Being Alive, and a concert version of Dreamgirls.

Odom’s first major starring role was as Isaiah Sturdevant in a musical version of Leap of Faith, both during its out of town tryout in Los Angeles and its Broadway debut in 2012. But he began his significant professional relationship with Lin-Manuel Miranda with an Encores! Concert performance of Tick, Tick… Boom!, a musical written by Rent composer Jonathan Larson that was not performed in his lifetime. It paved the way for Odom to land the second starring role of Hamilton when the musical premiered at the Public Theater in 2015 and on Broadway later that year. Odom would go on to win a Tony for Best Actor in a Musical by playing the trigger-happy vice president.

Beyond theater, Odom enjoys a successful recording career, releasing his first of two solo jazz albums, Leslie Odom Jr., in 2014 well-before playing Burr. He also has transitioned to Hollywood. Already having played smaller guest roles on network television shows like CSI: Miami and Smash, after Hamilton he had a starring role in Kenneth Branagh’s Murder on the Orient Express (2017) and played abolitionist William Still in 2019’s Harriet Tubman biopic, Harriet.

Daveed Diggs – Marquis de Lafayette / Thomas Jefferson

A musician, rapper, and writer as renowned for his musical career as his theatrical one before Hamilton, Daveed Diggs’ hip hop ability earned him the distinction of “fastest rapper on Broadway” with the ability to speed through 19 words in three seconds during Layfette’s solo in “Guns and Ships”—though he jokes in the rap world that is only “medium fast.” Still, it was that ability that led Lin-Manuel Miranda to invite Daveed Diggs to early Hamilton workshops in 2012.

Before that Diggs had developed notoriety for being the lead vocalist and writer for experimental hip hop and rap group, Clipping. Joining William Huston and Jonathan Snipes in 2010 on the west coast scene, the group released their first mixtape album, midcity, in 2013. Diggs also enjoyed a theatrical career before either Clipping or Hamilton. In fact, after growing up in Oakland, he attended Brown University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Theatre Arts. He then initially pursued work in experimental theater, including on the national tour for Marc Bamuthi Joseph’s Word Becomes Flesh, as well as work in regional Shakespeare productions, including playing Caliban in a San Francisco production of The Tempest.

Since playing Lafayette and Jefferson in Hamilton both at the Public Theater and on Broadway, winning a Tony for the latter, Diggs has pursued a multimedia career that includes the vastly underrated Blindspotting, an indie film that includes poetic verse interludes that Diggs co-wrote and produced. He earned a Spirit Award nomination for Best Male Lead for his performance. He also did a major stint on ABC’s Black-ish before starring in The Get Down and now Snowpiercer on TV. He also appeared in the movies Wonder, Velvet Buzzsaw, and Pixar’s upcoming Soul.

Christopher Jackson – George Washington

Before Hamilton for Christopher Jackson and Lin-Manuel Miranda, there was In the Heights. Indeed, Jackson played the supporting role of Benny opposite Miranda in that show during both its Off-Broadway and on Broadway runs in New York City. Yet even by that point, Jackson had already developed an impressive theatrical career, starring in his first Broadway musical at the age of 21 in the original cast of The Lion King.

After attending American Musical and Dramatic Academy, the Illinois-born Jackson broke into theater with Time and the Wind Off-Broadway and then as part of the ensemble in Disney’s groundbreaking The Lion King in 1997. He would go on to play the lead role of Simba in the show several years later. Afterward, he starred in a number of major productions that include Memphis, Cotton Club Parade for the Encores! Concert series, and Bronx Bombers, in which he played a singing and dancing version of Derek Jeter. He left that production though to work again with his playwright pal on Hamilton. In addition to starring in the off and on Broadway productions of the show, Jackson is the only Hamilton cast member besides Miranda who was with the musical since the beginning, playing the rapping-on-metronome American president in the show’s 2014 Vassar Workshop.

Since Hamilton, Jackson has added to his TV credits by appearing in Ava DuVernay’s When They See Us and Apple TV’s Central Park. He also confirmed to Den of Geek earlier this year he has a cameo in the In the Heights movie and will be appearing in Miranda’s upcoming film version of Jonathan Larson’s Tick, Tick… Boom!

Phillipa Soo – Eliza Schuyler Hamilton

The daughter of a Chinese-American father and European-American mother, Phillipa Soo was fresh out of Juiliard when she landed her first major starring role in a musical. That production, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, was Dave Malloy’s ambitious adaptation of a 70-page segment of Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace. Soo originated the role of Natasha Rostova in the musical’s three original Off-Broadway runs between 2012 and 2013. And it was during one of these performances that Hamilton director Thomas Kail and Lin-Manuel Miranda were in attendance. Afterward they asked her to read for the lead role of Eliza, the Schuyler Sister who would become Alexander Hamilton’s wife.

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Soo originated the role of Eliza both at the Public Theater and on Broadway, earning a Tony nomination for Best Actress in a Musical. Soo would go on to star in the eponymous role of the Broadway adaptation of Amélie in 2017, being nominated again for a Tony. Later that same year, she starred in The Parisian Woman, an original play by Beau Willimon, for a limited run between November 2017 and March 2018. She also starred in CBS’ short-lived military legal drama series, The Code.

Renée Elise Goldsberry – Angelica Schuyler

Winning the Tony for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her rendition of Angelica, Renée Elise Goldsberry was another of the breakout stars of the original Hamilton cast. Born in San Jose, California before growing up in Texas and Michigan, Goldsberry began her career in equal parts television and theater. After graduating with a BFA from Carnegie Mellon University, and then earning a Master of Music in Jazz Studies at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music, Goldsberry went on to appear in a national tour of Dreamgirls and make her first appearance on Ally McBeal in the same year, 1997. Appearing as one of the backup singers behind Vonda Shepard on the Fox drama, Goldsberry appeared in 43 episodes between ’97 and 2002. On Broadway she’d go on to star as Nala in The Lion King, as Mimi in Rent, and originate the role of Nettie Harris in the original Broadway cast of The Color Purple in 2005.

In television, her credits include a 272-episode stint on One Life to Live, guest spots on Star Trek: Enterprise, Royal Pains, Masters of Sex, Documentary Now!, and The Following, and a major recurring role as Geneva Pine on The Good Wife. More recently she is among the stars of Netflix’s Altered Carbon and featured in a supporting role in Trey Edward Shults and A24’s Waves.

Anthony Ramos – John Laurens / Philip Hamilton

The upcoming star of the In the Heights movie, where Ramos plays a role that Lin-Manuel Miranda originated and wrote, Ramos’ life has turned out quite a bit different than he initially planned. How could it not when in high school he intended to pursue NCAA Division III Basketball and then a career in basketball coaching? Instead the Brooklyn born Ramos got a full scholarship to the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, a conservatory for the performing arts, and graduated from its musical theatre program in 2011. A year later he appeared in a supporting role of In the Heights’ touring production before starring in Radio City Music Hall’s short-lived Heart and Lights. Seriously, it was cancelled during previews.

That turned out to be a blessing though, as it led Ramos to audition for Hamilton, securing him the dual role of Hamilton’s doomed BFF John Laurens and then Hamilton’s doomed firstborn son, Philip, in both the Public Theater and Broadway productions of the show. Miranda clearly thinks Ramos is looking for a breakout role, particularly after starring in a memorable supporting role in Bradley Cooper’s A Star is Born remake, as Lady Gaga’s bestie Ramon, and featuring in supporting roles in Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Trolls World Tour. In the Heights should be it.

Okieriete Onaodowan – Hercules Mulligan / James Madison

The cast member to stay the longest on Hamilton, Okieriete Onaodowan played the wildly different roles of Hercules Mulligan, an American spy on the British Army in New York, and founding father and future U.S. president, James Madison. The son of Nigerian immigrants, Onaodowan was born in Newark, New Jersey where he began pursuing professional theater after high school. Appearing in numerous off and off-off-Broadway productions, Onaodowan eventually broke through by appearing as “Rock & Roll Boyfriend” in the national tour of Green Day’s American Idiot musical. Afterward he appeared in a 2012 Broadway production of Cyrano de Bergerac.

In 2014 he was the understudy for the role of Apollo Creed in the short-lived Broadway musical version of Rocky but then achieved stardom with Hamilton, both at the Public and on Broadway. He also took over the leading role of Pierre Bezukhov from Josh Groban in the Broadway version of The Comet of 1812. He also has numerous TV credits that include Blue Bloods, Ballers, Girls, The Get Down, Grey’s Anatomy, and an episode of BoJack Horseman.

Jasmine Cephas Jones – Peggy Schuyler / Maria Reynolds

Before she played the relentlessly insistent Peggy, Brooklyn born Jasmine Cephas Jones had already begun a film and television career that included supporting roles in Blue Bloods and Noah Baumbach’s Mistress America. A graduate of the Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theatre, Hamilton was only her second stage credit, and first one on Broadway. Since then she’s also played Roxanne opposite Peter Dinklage in a musical version of Cyrano de Bergerac, and appeared in Baumbach’s Marriage Story as well as Stella Meghie’s The Photograph.

Jones has also pursued a musical career with her debut album Blue Bird. And in a little bit of Hamilton trivia, she is married in real-life to Anthony Ramos, whom she met in the Public Theater production of the musical.

Jonathan Groff – King George III

Wow, from Kristoff to Mad King George, Jonathan Groff is really showing his range on Disney+ these days! Yep, one of the most well-known mainstream actors pre-Hamilton, Groff made himself a household name, at least with musical theater and animation geeks, by playing Kristoff in Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Frozen (which he reprised in last year’s Frozen II). He also played the recurring villainous and then redeemed (I guess) Jesse St. James on Fox’s now infamous Glee.

Prior to any of that though, Groff came from the theater, beginning his career straight out of high school and breaking through with the starring role of Melchior Gabor in Spring Awakening. Originating the role both Off and then on Broadway in 2006, he received a Tony nomination for Best Actor in a Musical for the performance. He followed that up with a Shakespeare in the Park production of Hair in 2007.

Groff went on to be nominated for a Tony for his show-stealing mugging as foppish, Top 40-listening King George–a nice feat since he was the only Original Broadway cast member who did not appear in the Public Theater production. And most recently he starred on stage as Seymour to rave reviews in an Off-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors. But he’s probably best known to many now as Holden Ford, the FBI special agent with a very peculiar fascination with serial killers in the David Fincher-produced Netflix series, Mindhunter.

The post Hamilton Movie: Meet the Original Cast appeared first on Den of Geek.

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#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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managician · 5 years

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ARC V Anniversary Day 12

Disccusion prompt: Favorite ships?

ARC V has really made me ship a lot of things, be it with or without taking canon into account just because of the potential, so buckle up ‘cause this is gonna be long. I kept it to a top 10 or otherwise I’d be here all day. Honorable mentions to prodigy and whistle, as they barely didn’t make it.

(PD this is a reupload because I realised the post wasn’t showing up properly, so if you’ve seen it before already I apologize)

With that out of the way, let’s go!

10. Natureshipping

I love many of the bgirl/bgirl ships so naturally I’d love all of them being together… Not only for the awesome aesthetic though, I also think their personalities would fit so nicely with each other and they’d like having the chance to meet and talk about everything they’ve gone through; I have so many fluffy headcanons for them and I really just wanna see them bonding and being happy together!

09. Frypanshipping

Probably the oddest ship in this list, I sure as hell didn’t expect to like them so much, but Crow really helped in making Shingo become a better person, and poor Shingo clutching onto his card post BB-arc the entire time made me so emotional. You could tell they had a good relationship and were very happy to be fighting together after that, they’re so cute.

08. Wingshipping

Look at these two precious babs… On a visual level they both have some of my favorite designs in all of ARC V and they’re both counterparts, so I was bound to at the very least consider pairing them up, but when they actually had a rather peaceful meeting in canon all things considered, and immediately valued each other? When you take into account all the possible fluff and angst you could make with setting these two into any scenario? I was soo sold. And they both share the egao philosophy, they’d definitely get along… It’s just fun to think about ideas with them.

07. Janushipping

I have a weak spot for Fusion/XYZ ships because I think there’s so much room for growth and forgiveness if done right, and while I didn’t expect Dennis and Ruri to actually have some backstory together, this relationship has all I could wish for both of their characters. It adds personal conflict to their stories (especially on Ruri’s side, something that isn’t about being related to Shun or Yuto) and leaves room for Dennis to be able to apologize and improve himself after the war; not to mention their aesthetics mesh beautifully together. It’s so easy to picture them awkwardly falling back into an acquaintanceship and figuring out together where to go from there.

06. Fruitshipping

aka the ‘these two care so fucking much for each other, I don’t know how you can watch arc v and at the very least not appreciate their relationship’ ship.

I don’t know what to say that hasn’t been said about them already, honestly. I was admittedly… Reticent, let’s say, to ship this at first, because the relationships between the protagonist and lead girl in YGO shows tend to be lackluster at best for me, but they built each other up as equals from day one and have a genuinely heartwarming friendship, where they know they can lean on each other for support no matter what. They’re one of the most important people for the other and you can feel that throughout the entire show. To this day they hold the honour of being the only protag/main girl ship I can stand romantically.

Though… since they’re so well-executed in canon, I don’t feel the need to seek fanworks of them because there’s no real conflict in their relationship, if that makes sense, haha.

05. Mysteryshipping

This is sort of to be expected as I enjoy all the relationships between this trio separately (even if Yuto/Yuzu’s was short-lived); this shot in the 2nd ED is what got me to even become interested in the OT3 potential, though it was after I finished the show. Yuzu had clearly been having a period of self-doubt in S1 because of the Yuto situation, and thanks to episodes 36-37 we got a wonderful showcase of how well Yuto and Yuya would have clicked, so if Yuzu happened to explain her problem to either of them and caused them to meet in not-so-tragic circumstancies… You can only dream of the possibilities. And thanks to their bonds being established early on, you can expand on them during or post canon events, both in a positive and negative light. We’ve seen teamwork and discussions between all of them already; it’s fun to try to translate that dynamic into a three-way interaction (cranky but overly protective Yuto being dragged around by his two enthusiastic Standard S/Os who also happen to love each other very much, for one).

04. Musicboxshipping

Gosh, these two are just so cute together. Sora was heavily influenced by both Yuya and Yuzu, but you can tell their relationship is really important by the way they both act with each other, especially during the Synchro Arc. Sora taught Yuzu how to Fusion Summon and thanks to that Yuzu was able to become stronger; but Sora also was able to form a solid connection with her and basically made his first true friend in all of his life. They support each other and care about each other so much that even after they know of Sora’s true colours, Yuzu still has blind faith in him, and Sora returns that feeling by saving her from her Duel crash and even being unable to carry the mission Academia gave him because he treasured their friendship that much. Their little master/apprentice moments are adorable and really give off the fluffy energy these two have around each other; and of course Sora’s Mad Chimera and Yuzu’s Bloom Prima dancing together was beautiful too! That was such a lovely scene that made me really appreciate the trust they have in each other.

03. Swiftshipping

I shipped them together from the moment I learned both of them had been kidnapped, and I was really happy when I saw that their designs fit well with each other’s color scheme. They’re both very caring for people they hold close and since there was no indication of the opposite, for the longest time I assumed they were in a cell together. Imagining both of them trying to comfort and support each other through their predicament got me really invested in their possible relationship, and even if it didn’t turn out like I’d hoped in the end, I still had a solid grasp on their personalities by that time, and I couldn’t let go of all the AUs and concepting I’d made for them. It should be said that I have a really weak spot for f/f ships, and this one hit many of my favorite tropes (stuck in same bad situation where they both would try to be strong for each other’s sake, different growing-up backgrounds; to name a few) so my investment only went up from there. I love them so much.

02. Triggershipping

I didn’t expect them to interact much, much less positively, and much less for them to grow to care for each other so much in a short span of time. They have such a friendly and beautiful relationship; Yugo hugging Yuzu because he thought she was Rin and poor Yuzu becoming a blushing mess was a sure way to make me interested from the get go in them, haha. And it only got better from there! Even though she was a complete stranger to him, Yugo still tried to comfort Yuzu to the best of his abilities and looked out for her, fully trusting everything she said, even if to someone else it would’ve sounded like a crazy story. And you can tell Yuzu grows very comfortable with being around Yugo; their small scene with the domestic bantering and her pulling out her fan says that much, as she only uses it with people she really cares for. Whenever they’re on screen together you know you’re gonna be in for a good time, their interactions are always funny and heartwarming.

Yugo saying that Yuzu will always live on his heart in a similar manner to what Yuri said of Rin made me realise how much she really meant to him, and both of them cheering for each other in their Friendship Cup duels was adorable. But if you put their situation into context their relationship is… really sad, as Yugo has lost Rin and Yuzu is all by herself in an unknown dimension. They have that perfect mix of fluff and angst to work with that I love in ships. I adore their relationship; even if it was born out of less than desirable circumstancies, they made it work and learned to appreciate and love each other. It’s always a source of inspiration for me!

(And Yugo’s lack of knowledge of what personal space is just made it even easier to ship them)

01. Counterpartshipping

ARC V has always had the uncanny ability of making me consider ships in the span of a single episode because of the wonderful character interactions. But these two… These two really take the cake. I’m not exaggerating when I say the relationship and development between them has made me cry.

Anyone who has heard me talk about YGO may know how much I like them. As I mentioned in a previous post where I talked about my favorite characters, I hadn’t expected to enjoy Yuto’s character so much, and much less this ship. Yuto remains a latent force of encouragement for Yuya during the entire show; as Reiji beautifully points out on his duel with Yuya after the Battle Royale fiasco, Yuya’s immediate connection with Yuto thanks to their shared ideology was the bond that allowed him to perform a XYZ Summon. His concern for Yuto in episode 37 was so palpable that it hurt; Yuto went from being some random shady dude who was beating up his friend Sora to a kind damaged person who believed in Yuya’s potential to make people happy in a way that he no longer could. It’s really interesting for me to analyse how deeply they affected each other in a short span of time. We’d seen that Yuto was a very protective person thanks to his interactions with Yuzu, so when he said that he didn’t want to hurt anyone else and ended up protecting Yuya at the cost of his own life… It drove the point home, Yuto really saw Yuya as someone worth protecting and that made it so much more painful.

Yuya also later on refers to their dialogue as a vow/promise, despite the fact that Yuto never said so, which really shows just how much thought he put into his words; to the point where those very words managed to snap him out of Berserk Mode when he was about to fight Sora. It really moved me, and the soul-crushing sensation I felt then stayed fresh in my mind right until the final season, which made me fall in love with them even more. They argued, they had fallouts, but their undying trust for each other still rose through all the problems. Yuto trusted Yuya so much that he essentially told him he was okay with falling to darkness because he knew Yuya would be okay and he’d still believe in him no matter what; that moment nearly made me actually tear up because it shows how much they’d helped each other grow.

They’re hands down one of the, if not my most favorite ship in all of the YGO series, and they’ve spurred my creativity so much. I love making AUs or analysing their interactions. They made me interested in creating content for other people to enjoy after I’d hit a stalemate 5 months ago, I’ll just never be able to express how much I love them and how grateful I am that they got to meet.

#arcvanniversary #ygo arc v #arc v #yugioh arc v #long post #you can tell these get longer as the list goes on because i have so many feelings and tbh im not sorry i love all the relationships

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neni-has-ascended · 6 years

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marie is the closest thing yu has to a canon love interest which fits since yus self was izanagi "maries actual original identity is Izanami, as in Izanami-no-Mikoto before she died, whereas the other aspect who took their collective identity represents who she became in Yomi. The Protagonist's "self" is Izanagi — Izanami's lover and later nemesis" soo while the other aspect who was post yomi was the villain and yus enemy, marie would be his lover

While I strictly oppose the idea of a “canon” love interest in Persona 4, you’re on to something regarding Marie’s symbolical meaning within the framework of Persona 4;

Persona 4 uses the Izanami-Izanagi myth and recontextualizes it, by deconstructing several different aspects and ways of interpreting Izanami’s and Izanagi’s relationship within a Jungian framework. What I mean by that is that the fear, truth and bond themes all manifest in how the game retells the mythological story; at three different points in the game, in three different ways.

First we get Nanako, who is “The Sister”. In the actual myth, Izanami and Izanagi were twin siblings who were sent to earth by the primordial spirits to create Japan together. So when Nanako is kidnapped (and apparently dies), this casts Yu, as our Izanagi-figure, into the role of the concerned brother, wanting to retrieve and/or avenge his sister, which is one way of interpreting Izanagi’s actions in the myth. This is especially relevant when you realize how Nanako dies and relate it to the myth: In the myth, Izanami becomes the queen of the underworld and leaves Izanagi permanently, when Izanagi breaks his promise to not look at her before she gives permission. Likewise, the endings in which Nanako dies permanently, are those in which Yu betrays his ideals (and his promise to Teddie from the start of the game) by killing Namatame. Nanako hear symbolizes the loss of innocence Izanami had to suffer after her brother betrayed her.

Secondly (in-game chronologically) we get Marie as “The Lover”. In the myth, despite being brother and sister, Izanami and Izanagi were also lovers and spouses. In fact, Izanami dies as a result of that relationship of theirs: Exhausted from giving birth to powerful deities born of their passionate union, her last son, Kagutsuchi, burns her to death. Keeping this aspect of Izanagi’s love being what killed Izanami in mind, it is rather clear that a big part of Izanagi’s motivation to go to to retrieve her from Yomi is because he’s not ready to give up on that love and passion; he wants to keep things the way they were, for quite selfish reasons. When you unlock Marie’s dungeon, it’s because you’ve completed her social link; You’ve forged a powerful relationship with her, which makes it impossible to just “forget” about her and ignore her death, so retrieving her is for Yu’s own gratification just as much as for Marie’s good. However, whereas Izanagi fails in the myth, Yu succeeds in retrieving Marie, which is because rather than ignoring her wishes and acting selfishly and impulsively, based on only his own desires, Yu and his friends always kept Marie’s emotions in mind, listened to her, and tried to understand and help her without complying with her suicidal intentions. Their bond is more genuine and less selfish than the one between Izanami and Izanagi in the myth, and that’s why Marie gets to live.

Finally, at the game’s very end, there’s Izanami-no-Ookami as “The Enemy”. This is Izanami as her current place among the pantheon is interpreted in relation to Izanagi: The queen of the underworld, a vengeful entity, that cursed humanity with death out of her own pettiness, her own hatred for the man who betrayed her. In the myth, Izanami’s and Izanagi’s fight results in a never-ending cycle of death, birth and suffering, which makes all mankind pay for Izanagi’s faults, while he himself refuses to admit them and take responsibility for his mistakes. He opposes Izanami’s curse of death with a “curse” of life, which does not improve the situation, only draws it out. In Persona 4, however, Yu doesn’t counter Izanami’s curse with petty stubbornness, but with a move called “Myriad Truths”: He acknowledges the pain of life, acknowledges his faults and shortcomings, acknowledges the bonds that have helped him get this far, and takes responsibility for it all, turning it all into his power to fight back. With this, he doesn’t perpetuate the cycle of Izanami’s curse; he breaks it. By defying all she believed to be true about humanity and proving himself and his friends better than that, he breaks the cycle of Izanami’s “test” and ends the curse on Inaba once and for all.

In all these instances of Persona 4 retelling the myth in one way or another, Yu breaks the “curse”, by not falling into the same traps the mythological Izanagi did with his pride, but instead choosing the right option: To be patient, be kind, be hopeful, and never lose what really matters (the truth and the people around you) out of his eyes.

This isn’t even getting into the case of Adachi, and how he represents the polar opposite role; an Izanagi who not only makes all the same mistakes as he made in the myth, but also repeats them, over and over, without ever learning from them until it is almost too late.

#Neni Replies #Neni Theory #Persona 4 #megashadowdragon

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lavenderbyun · 6 years

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4 Wonderful Aspects/Scenes from Just Between Lovers that kind of went under the radar:

1. So Mi shows Gang Doo her work:

Scenes where a protagonist realises they need to be somewhere else mid-conversation are very common not only in kdramas but in all kinds of shows and films - but one huge difference here is how the usual scene has said protagonist either run off without saying a word or saying “I’ve got to go” before leaving the person they’re talking to hanging, whereas Gang Doo takes that moment to validate So Mi’s hard work. He is busy, and his mind is elsewhere - but he doesn’t ignore her, unlike so many characters he has genuine respect for people and makes them feel valued.

2. So Mi & Moon Soo ft. Make Up:

When it came to Moon Soo’s plainer appearance in comparison to So Mi’s more made up look, I was weary and for a moment thought ‘oh no, is Moon Soo one of those ‘I’m not like other girls’ characters?’ So Mi does comment on people making assumptions about her because she wears makeup and dresses more feminine than her coworkers after getting a similar reaction from Moon Soo and whilst the drama could have used this to keep them as bitter coworkers (as many dramas have done), they used it to bring them closer. And after you watch the scene with Moon Soo’s mum reacting badly to Moon Soo wearing makeup you realise it’s not that Moon Soo is all ‘booo makeup! i’m an architect so i wear flannels!’ but rather, it was something the accident stripped from her. So it was so nice to see So Mi giving her tips, the two of them buying each other products and to watch as Moon Soo slowly begins to allow herself this almost luxury?

3. Sang Man the Translator:

It’s a lovely parallel between him wanting to donate his liver to Gang Doo, not only because he loves him but also because he wanted to feel useful and him being a translator at the end of the drama for the ‘backstreet hospital’ - because he plays a huge role in helping the patients as best as they can. He wasn’t just a sunshine character with no real purpose, and he wasn’t simply given use through being Gang Doo’s donor - he was given purpose that allowed him to make use of his talents and interests.

4. Yoo Jin’s Ending

Maybe this is an unpopular opinion since I know a lot of people weren’t happy with her ending - but personally I loved it. I was so happy her and Joo Won weren’t together in the end! So often in kdramas are the 2nd leads just thrown together in the end or are just brushed aside with no real closure. But Yoo Jin got the opposite. She was given an opportunity to apologise to Joo Won for her actions in the past, and given the chance to make amends. And this is something that 2nd Female Leads especially are never given! If a 2nd female lead does something wrong, she’s rarely gets to fix it and is either left as the villain or ignored. But here, Yoo Jin not only is given a chance to fix her mistakes, but also gets to have the most power by the end of the drama (now, tell me the last time you saw the 2nd female lead become ceo?) Just because she isn’t with someone in the end doesn’t mean its a bad ending. She becomes CEO, makes right of everything that was done wrong 10 years ago and is allowed to have a good relationship with her main love interest without it being romantic. I think it’s great!

#just between lovers #rain or shine #kdrama #kdramanetwork #ktext

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aer-in-wanderland · 6 years

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JBL | Actor Interviews - Junho

‘JBL’ Lee Junho “I found my smile through melo acting with Won Jin Ah”

“Becoming someone who inspires others inspires me.”

“I feel strange. Even though the drama completed two days ago and we all watched the final broadcast together and clapped and concluded, it still feels as if it’s not fully over. It used to be that after each episode finished I would look through people’s reactions and enjoy myself, but that’s all over now too so I feel numb. It seems there are fans of the drama who feel the same way I do. Out of respect for those people as well, I don’t want to let go of Kang Doo too quickly.”

While Lee Junho was immersed in his role, he erased his smile and maintained a dark mood. At the same time, as he collaborated with Won Jin Ah (who plays the role of Ha Moon Soo) on the melo(*) [scenes], he says he felt his mood naturally begin to lift.

“From the time I fell in love with Moon Soo I started to listen to music in the car. Up until then I had been constantly tired and irritable and felt weighed down. While spending time with Moon Soo, I myself began to feel lighter as well. A bit at a time, smiles started to form. It was very comfortable with Won Jin Ah. I’m not particularly talkative, but while doing this drama I became particularly wordless. While filming with Jin Ah, sometimes we would be on standby together in silence. Those sorts of things were nice. She’s exceedingly easy-going and frank, and she does really well. I had the thought that ‘this person is upright, sincere, and hardworking, I like it.’”

The two protagonists of JBL, Kang Doo and Moon Soo, each lose their father and younger sibling respectively in the mall collapse. The two, who live on as survivors and bereaved family and suffer from [survivor’s] guilt and PTSD, go on to embrace each other’s wounds.

“What’s important is that people like Kang Doo absolutely exist in reality. I didn’t want to be discourteous to people who are truly living with that pain. So I was unhappy to the greatest extent possible and I accumulated a lot of stress. My hair fell out a bit, and I even developed a white nose hair. That’s how immersed I was. At the end, when Kang Doo becomes terminal, I naturally felt ill and lost weight. Even if the script didn’t say ‘Kang Doo cries,’ the tears kept coming.”

JBL made viewers reminisce about the countless disasters that have befallen our society, for instance, a shopping mall collapse or the Daegu metro fire, the sinking of the Sewol, and so on. It attracted praise for the detailed way in which it depicted the wounds of the survivors [of such trajedies].

“They weren’t emotions that can be easily understood. Unless you experience that agony you can’t understand it. I wasn’t even able to attempt to understand those people’s pain. The biggest message that our drama wanted to give was to not forget those accidents and that pain. So we weren’t concerned with the viewership ratings. JTBC’s CP and president were the same. Everything at the filming site began with the intention of properly communicating the drama’s message.”

10 years have passed since he debuted as part of the group 2PM in 2008. Lee Junho, who often smiles in a way that appears gentle and without a care, has, for the past 10 years, been a youth full of ambition. At times, that ambition has caused him to make things hard for himself.

“Over the past 10 years of activities, I had my own dark age as well. I also injured my shoulder. There were also times when I wanted to be working hard but became unable to. Even I had the thought I was rushing, but I wanted to do better, faster, more. So I continued working without taking any breaks. Now that it’s been 10 years, I’ve finally started to think I can try going with the flow a bit. While filming this drama, I felt that at times I need to take time to recharge as well. I’ve started to dream of a self that, rather than burning very brightly and quickly extinguishing, is someone who can continue to burn for a long time.”

As a singer, he’s accumulated an impressive amount of experience, but as an actor, this is only the start [for him]. The decision of whether to continue doing both or just choose one is a common conundrum for actors who start out as singers. Lee Junho shouted, ‘both.’

“Acting and singing, I want to do both well, and I want to do both for the rest of my life. I think I shouldn’t rush crazily at doing either one. The happiness of performing as a singer and the happiness of performing as an actor are complete opposites. When I [perform as] a singer, I get the sense that, for 3 hours, the world is wholly mine. As an actor, I feel as if I’m living the life of someone else entirely.”

Kang Doo is someone who lives hiding his pain. Being a celebrity also means that there are many times when you have to live while hiding difficult and dark things. As expected, Junho confessed that he doesn’t often show it when he’s having a hard time. We got the sense that these sorts of points are the reason why he’s been unable to extricate himself from Kang Doo easily.

“Until this past year, even if I was having a hard time I didn’t show it. I tend to express my emotions outwardly, but I would never say I was having a hard time. Though I did think that I had to be able to express my heart and commiserate with other people, up until now I’ve not done a good job of it. From now on I’m thinking to try expressing myself without filtering. In the old days, because I was young, I saw painful things as my weakness. I thought that if someone knew I was in pain they wouldn’t give me work. Now, I’m going to live expressing myself bit by bit. Painful things also need to be shared."

When we asked him if there is someone who inspires him as a singer or actor, he responded with, “Oddly, there isn’t such a person,” saying that, “Becoming someone who inspires others inspires me,” sharing a somewhat different answer. At the same time, he says he receives inspiration as a person from his fellow members of 2PM, talking about them happily.

“When we’re all tired and worn out Wooyoung-i gets up first and prepares. It’s really impressive. Khun-hyung (Nichkhun) is someone who could fly even higher (professionally), but he’s remained by our side. Watching him go out and promote 2PM in various variety shows and whatnot when we first debuted, I had the thought that he’s someone who is meant to receive love. Minjun-hyung is very good at expressing affection. Seeing him do that, I learn as well. Conversely, I hope that I’m someone who can inspire the other members as well.”

#junho #2pm #lee junho #interview #just between lovers #준호 #이준호 #인터뷰 #그냥 사랑하는 사이 #그사이 #종영 #투피엠 #translation #korean #mine

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